Henry Dobson (24 December 1841 – 10 October 1918) was an Australian politician, who served as a member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

and later of the Australian Senate. He was the 17th

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

from 17 August 1892 to 14 April 1894.

Early life and legal career

Dobson was born in

Hobart Town Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

(now

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

), the son of John Dobson and full brother to Alfred and half-brother to

William Lambert Dobson Sir William Lambert Dobson (24 April 1833 – 17 March 1898) was an English-born Australian politician, a Leader of the Opposition and Chief Justice of Tasmania, ( Australia). Early life Dobson was born at Carr Hill, Gateshead, Durham, En ...

, and

Frank Dobson Frank Gordon Dobson (15 March 1940 – 11 November 2019) was a British Labour Party politician. As Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St. Pancras from 1979 to 2015, he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 t ...

. Dobson was educated at

The Hutchins School , motto_translation = Character lives after death , city = Hobart , state = Tasmania , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , de ...

and worked for a merchant firm before commencing legal training with Allport, Robson & Allport. He was admitted to the Tasmanian Bar in 1846, and partnered with William Giblin from 1865 to 1870, and was a

senior partner A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as "equity partners". Th ...

in the law firm Dobson, Mitchell & Allport (started by his father).E. M. Dollery
Dobson, Henry (1841 - 1918)
'' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 8, Melbourne University Press, 1981, pp 311-312.

Political career

Tasmanian House of Assembly

Dobson's political career began on 12 August 1891, when he was elected to the

representing the electorate of Brighton. He was quickly made Leader of the Opposition the next month, and became

on 17 August 1892 after the fall of

Philip Fysh Sir Philip Oakley Fysh (1 March 1835 – 20 December 1919) was an English-born Australian politician. He arrived in Tasmania in 1859 and became a leading merchant in Hobart. He served two terms as premier of Tasmania (1877–1878, 1887–1892) ...

's government. Dobson had a keen interest in education, and introduced compulsory education legislation into the Tasmanian parliament. He also promoted Tasmania as a tourist destination and fruit-growing centre, attributes which it remains known for today. Economic factors required him to make difficult decisions, and when a proposed retrenchment program was rejected in the Parliament, Dobson obtained a

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

from the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, and then resigned as Premier on 14 April 1894 when the situation remained unchanged after the election. Henry Dobson (1898)

After retiring as Premier, Dobson remained in his seat until he retired on 9 March 1900.

Australian Senate

Dobson was a keen supporter of the Federation of Australia, and when federation took place in 1901, Dobson was elected as a member of the first Australian Senate for Tasmania. He remained in the Senate for over nine years, but retired when he lost the election on 30 June 1910. He served as Chairman of Committees from 1908 to 1910.

Later life

After retiring from politics, Dobson turned his efforts to promoting Tasmanian tourism. He founded and was president of the Tasmanian Tourist Association from 1893, helped found the Tourist and Information Bureau and the Scenery Preservation Board in 1915, and was chairman of the National Park Board from 1917 to 1918. Dobson died on 10 October 1918 in Hobart.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Henry 1841 births 1918 deaths Premiers of Tasmania Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania 19th-century Australian lawyers Politicians from Hobart Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania Free Trade Party members of the Parliament of Australia Revenue Tariff Party members of the Parliament of Australia Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia 19th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians